Traction device for vehicle-wheels.



J. S. KINGSBURY.

TRACTION DEVICE EGR VEHICLE WHEELS. APPLICATION mio Nov. 21., 1914.

l Patented Jan. 9, 1917.

w l v "5 /LQL gl WITNESSES INI/ENTOR JACOB s. KINGSBURY, or ALBANY, NEW YORK,- AssIeNoR To KINGsRURY-LEAHY 'y COMPANY, or ALBANY, Naw YORK, A CORPORATION or NEW YORK.

TRACTIN DEVICE FOR VEHICLEeWI-IEELS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. s, 191s.

Application filed November 27, 1914. Serial N o. 874,156.

To all whom #may concern:

Be it known that I, JACOB S. KINGSBURY, of Albany, in the county of Albany, and in the State of New York, have invented a cer tain new and useful Improvement in Traction Devices for Vehicle-IVheels, and do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to traction devices for automobiles.

While my invention relates in general to traction ,devices for automobiles and vehicles in general, it is especially applicable to motor trucks.

Hitherto, efforts to provide traction devices on the wheels of motor trucks have been unsuccessful. This is due to the great weight of theV trucks and partly, also, to the solid tires which are customarily used in connection withvehicles of this type. When attempts have been made previously to apply chainsv of the ordinary type to wheels of motor trucks, in Order to prevent the wheels from slipping, the results have been Wholly unsatisfactory, owing to the fact that the wheels would often slip within the chains so that the chains would provide no tractive effect whatever, and owing to the fact, furthermore, that the parts would become frequently broken, due to the very great strains placed upon the chains, and due to the fact that the chains would at times catch in the driving mechanism as, for eX- ample, the driving chain, the brake rod, etc.,

lon the automobile.

The Object of my invention is to provide an attachment for motor truck wheelsrwhich does not slip in operation, and in which the forces are so distributed that the chains forming a part of the device do not become severed under the strains applied, and in which, furthermore, the parts are so arranged that they do not catch in the operat ing mechanism of the automobile.

While my invention is capable of being embodied in many different forms, for the purpose of illustration I have shown only one form thereof in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a vertical elevation of a wheel equipped with the traction device; and, Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the same.

In the drawings I have sho-wn a motor truck wheel l` having Vspokes 2, and having attached thereto the usual brake casing 3.

On the periphery of the wheel there are provided a pair of'solid rubber tires 4i. At intervals aroundthe wheel l chainsf5 are lo? cated, each of which passes around the periphery of the wheel and has its two ends 6o connected toa floating ring 6 by means of a bolt 7 having a nut 8 and a cotter vpin 9 thereon. The chains 5 are preferably so arranged that one end of each ofthe chains passes between a pair of the spokes 2 in 65 such a manner that the two ends of the chains 5 are connected to the ring 6 located at one side of the spokes 2. It will be observed, as shown in Fig'. l, that therchains are arranged in such a manner that any one chain 5 is diametrically opposite to anotherV one of the chains. f

In the operation of the apparatus when the wheel l is being rotated by the motor of the automobile, the chains 5 will be tightly 75 gripped against the tires 4, owing to the fact that any one of the chains 5 is diametrically opposite to, and rigidly connected with another' one of the chains. The whole con-V struction is, therefore, supported in place the same time, the chains 5 that are present in the construction are rather long, so that the desired amount-of elasticity is obtained. Furthermore, the fact that the floating ring 6, to whichV the chains are connected, is lo` cated at the outside of the wheel, thus requiring the free ends of the chains to pass from the rear to the front of the wheels, avoids 'any chance of the chains becoming 90 entangled in the operating parts of the automobile. Furthermore, it willv be noted that while each individual chain is capable of considerable lateral movement, this movement does not permit the chain to acquire 9 a position that gives it a small acute angle to the periphery of the wheel. The chains,

therefore, invariably tightly grip the periphery of the wheel. Thisprevents the traction device from rotating as a whole 10S of the wheel.

lVhile I have described my invention above in detail, l Wish it to be understood that many changes may be made therein Without departing` from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

l. A traction device for a vehicle Wheel, comprising` a plurality of radially arranged chains, and a Heating' ring rigidly connecting the same by both ends of each of the chains.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patente, Washington, D. C. 

